Apple Drops out of NAB 2008

Macenstein reports a bit of surprising news this afternoon. Apple has apparently dropped out of NAB 2008. For fans of Apple’s professional film/video editing products this is quite a surprise. Apple has, in the past, had one of the largest booths at NAB, showcasing the amazing Final Cut Studio suite, and other professional software options. This year, however, they are “scaling back”.

“Apple is participating in fewer trade shows this year,” said Anuj Nayar, senior manager of PR at Apple. “Often there are better ways to reach our customers. The increasing popularity of our retail stores and Apple.com Web site allows us to directly reach more than 100 million customers around the world in innovative new ways.”

To me, that statement is not only a commentary about NAB, but all tradeshows. Could we see a day where the trade show is ineffective because of the limited number of people that are able to attend?

This has to come as a huge blow to the promotors of NAB, because not only has Apple chosen skip the expense of a booth – so has AVID. That’s two MAJOR players in the world of video editing that won’t be on the NAB floor.

Now, this doesn’t mean that Apple won’t have ANY presence at NAB. It’s still possible they could put on some small hands-on events, or conduct user groups, but the lack of Avid or Apple at NAB, it looks like the event isn’t going to be quite as big as it has been in the past.